Ayurvedic Medicine: The Principles of Traditional Practice

Ayurvedic Medicine: The Principles of Traditional Practice

Sebastian Pole

Ayurvedic Medicine clearly and comprehensively presents the unique theories and traditions of Ayurveda making them accessible to the health practitioner of today.

With a brief history of traditional medicine in India and discussion of principles, treatment strategies and traditional Ayurvedic pharmacy and pharmacology, the book offers an essential overview of the culture in which Ayurveda has developed and the scientific basis behind this holistic approach. It details over 100 plant profiles of Ayurvedic herbs, with images of fresh and dried plants, and 50 traditional formulas, including characteristics, usage, combinations, contraindications, and safety and dosage information for each.

This essential resource explains the traditional medical system of Ayurveda, and provides guidance to students and practitioners on how to incorporate herbal medicine into their life and practice.

senses. They are receptive and receive the flow of prakrti in her multiple forms. They operate on a subtle and gross level; the ears perceive sound moving in space, the skin perceives touch carried by air, the eyes see light generated by fire, the tongue carries taste that manifests through water and the nose observes smells exuding from earth. Through these senses we know about the world; hearing, feeling, seeing, tasting and smelling it. They are the interface between the inner and outer world.

Hair: an indicator of overall tissue quality V Tends to be dry, lustreless, thin, curly, wiry, dark, frizzy and with split ends. The dry quality manifests as dandruff. P Usually straight, light blond, brown or red hair. High pitta can cause early greying of the hair. Moderate and fine quality of hair. Early balding is a pitta quality as it derives from high testosterone and pitta secretions. K Often a brown colour. Abundant hair with a thick, wavy and heavy quality. It can be oily and is full of

it first thing in the morning. A good way of flushing pitta out of the body is via the bowel; Ayurveda recommends amalaki (Emblica officinalis) as a mild laxative. Triphala can be mildly heating and so it is best to move over to amalaki in pitta constitutions. When thirsty try drinking cool herbal teas of peppermint, licorice, fennel and rose. Another delicious delicacy is to collect a glass of fresh rose petals and cover them in sugar overnight (in the moonlight). In the morning you will have a

with constipation and with painful urgency causing tenesmus Q Unformed stools with undigested food, smelly stools, pain in stomach, fatty stools, large number of stools It is important to note that lack of response or excessive response are not always the result of accurate or inaccurate diagnosis, but may also be the result of idiosyncratic patient reactions, too high or too low a dose of medication, drug–herb interactions, or simply an inappropriate form of medication being prescribed. Ru-pa:

taking them before a meal they are taken afterwards and usually at double the dose. These hot herbs literally burn the ama. The indication for using pacana is when there is hunger but not enough ‘fuel’ to fan the digestive flames. These spices are the fuel. Of course, when there are already inflammatory conditions, such as ulcers, caution must be taken. Q Vata mixed with ama (sama vata) affects the colon causing stagnation in the lower abdomen; constipation and bloating are followed by pain,